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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I know I will not. In fact, I remember exactly where I was on this day 5 years ago when I first heard about the plane striking the World Trade Center. I was at a McDonald's enjoying breakfast and listening to a local sportsradio broadcaster broadcast live from there when he broke for his 45 minutes past the hour break. I was about to walk over to him during the break and say that I wanted to speak about Michael Jordan's return to basketball and play for the Washington Wizards when I looked at his face which is that of shock. At first report it seemed to me like a small plane and that it was a freak accident, but when I heard of the second plane hit the World Trade Center I knew that this had to be some sort of planned attack. I spent the entire 9:00 hour glued to his little broadcast station as he had a set of headphones which I listened to the producer back at the station speak to him and updating him. There were other callers who chimed in with updates from the televised newscasts. After the show ended I hung around for a small time listening, then the host's dad offered to drive me to teh college where I could watch the TV in the library as well as get current updates on the internet. While en route I phoned my mom and stepdad to tell them what had happened. My stepdad told me that he had heard about it and that mom was going to get me and tell me but she saw that I was gone. When I went into the library at the college to watch the news, I almost fell to the floor upon seeing the planes striking the Towers and the Pentagon. About 11:45 I got word that the college was closing and called my grandma in Chicago to ask her if she and dad knew what was happening. She said that dad was on the way to the store but that they knew what was going on. After I spoke to grandma I went home and kept the news on the TV all the time, gasping and getting angry as to what happened.

I urge people to NEVER forget this day for as long as they live. I encourage everyone no matter where they are that if they have the American flag to unfurl it and wave it proudly, for as Frankin Delano Roosevelt said of another terrible day in American History, "This is a day which will go down in infamy."

It is amazing how 5 years later, the horrific events of 9-11 still affects people. A lady who checked the terrorists onto that first flight that hit the towers killed herself because she couldn't deal with the guilt. Also, another checker who did the second flight.... is still five years later in intense therapy. This I had found out from a woman who I had seen in a chat room where I visit often. I guess this is a lot like Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Those words, written September 11, 2006, still hold true today. While the main proponents of the September 11, 2001, attacks are either dead or still imprisoned awaiting trial, we must not remember what happened that fateful day. We had been at war with Muslim extremists ever since 1784 when the first American vessel was seized by Moroccan pirates. That led to the formation of the United States Navy in March 1794 and us taking the battle to them. The Middle East has always been in the interest of the United States, as seen by historian Michael Oren in a speech given at Columbia University entitled The Middle East and the Making of the United States, 1776 to 1815. In fact, Oren had said that the Middle East 's Impact on American Affairs Is Nothing New. Not many know or realize this, but it is true.

The Middle East will always have an impact on American affairs, regardless of who is in the White House or has control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The only question is how the people in control of those offices handle the affairs coming out of the Middle East. Even though many people hate President George W. Bush, he knew how to handle the affairs out of the Middle East. In fact, if it were not for the intelligence and the protocols already in place, Obama would not have had the opportunity to order the death of Osama bin Ladin.